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Felix Quayson - Dissertation.pdf (994.3 KB)

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EXAMINING THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF PRE-COLLEGIATE BLACK MALE STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND SUPPORTS FROM SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS

Quayson, Felix O.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8444-8619
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712580597004881

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
While Perkins V legislation and newer career and technical education programs were designed to prepare students for success in both college and career pathways and modern career and technical education programs are supposed to expand college and career readiness outcomes for students, there is a lack of research examining supports that promote the academic engagement and success of Black male students in high school career academies. Career academies are a type of high school reform initiative that is designed to prepare students for college and careers in career fields such as engineering and informing technology (Fletcher & Tan, 2022; Fletcher et al., 2018). In the 1970s, career academies were designed as career-oriented schools that delivered college preparatory instructional curriculum, and operated as smaller schools within larger schools (ACTE, 2019; NAF, 2023). Comprehensive school reform efforts like career academies are likely to ensure that Black male students are prepared for college and careers with personalized resources and services such as trade and apprenticeship pathways, work-based learning, early career exploration, guidance counseling, and college-level examination programs. In this study, I described the need for research to examine college and career readiness of high school Black male students at a NAF (formerly known as the National Foundation Academy) Academy of Engineering. I utilized the theoretical frameworks of college and career ready by Stone and Lewis (2012) and culturally relevant pedagogy by Ladson-Billings (1992) to review the research questions, background of the problem, problem statement, purpose statement, and significance of the study. Since Black males are a vulnerable group of youth with lower academic achievement and performance and barriers to career prospects and access to higher education (Brown et al., 2019; Hines et al., 2014; Wright, 2019), I explored the role of career academies, culturally relevant education for Black male students, the historical analysis of career and technical education, the role of high school counselors to guide Black male students, and the academic preparation of Black male students in high school for school personnel to train them early on in their education journey to think more broadly about college and career options. I utilized the RADaR Technique (rigorous and accelerated data reduction) by Watkins (2017) to help me with data reduction to produce more concise data tables to analyze the interviews, codes, and emerging themes. Based on data analyses, I found that school stakeholders emphasized the importance of the transformative impact of comprehensive support programs and foundational mathematics education and pre-engineering from an early age to ensure academic success and Black male students translated their learning into real-world contexts with employable and transferable skills including teamwork and collaboration that drive enthusiasm for engineering, hands-on learning, project-based learning as a motivator for students, and a passion for innovating. I found that school stakeholders did not provide effective teacher professional development and they did not know how to embed their concerns into the curriculum. They did not give a space for Black male students to air their grievances, dislikes, or concerns about STEM programs. The modular projects were practical but they were not embedded in social inequalities, which affected Black male students’ ability to critique social inequities and critical consciousness including the lack of cultural competency training. This research study results provide evidence that career academies are likely sources of social and cultural capital for Black male students with connections to industry, business, and community partnerships. For future practice, school stakeholders should hire quality and qualified teachers, administrators, and staff who are likely to make key decisions on Black male students’ college and career opportunities.
Edward Fletcher, Jr. (Advisor)
Christopher Zirkle (Committee Member)
Antoinette Errante (Committee Member)
126 p.
African American Studies; African Americans; Black Studies; Cultural Resources Management; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Ethnic Studies; Gender Studies; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; School Administration; Science Education; Secondary Education; Sociology; Teacher Education; Teaching; Technology; Vocational Education
Career Academies; Career and Technical Education; STEM Education; College and Career Readiness; Workforce Development and Education; Vocational Education; Black Male Students; African American; Ethnic Studies; Science Education; Mathematics Education; Educational Studies

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Quayson, F. O. (2024). EXAMINING THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF PRE-COLLEGIATE BLACK MALE STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND SUPPORTS FROM SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712580597004881

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Quayson, Felix. EXAMINING THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF PRE-COLLEGIATE BLACK MALE STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND SUPPORTS FROM SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS. 2024. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712580597004881.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Quayson, Felix. "EXAMINING THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF PRE-COLLEGIATE BLACK MALE STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND SUPPORTS FROM SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1712580597004881

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1712580597004881
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© 2024, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License EXAMINING THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF PRE-COLLEGIATE BLACK MALE STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND SUPPORTS FROM SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS by Felix O. Quayson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.